Official MOC CB Frequency?

[D and M On The Road]

I'd like to throw my hat in the ring ask for an official MOC CB frequency. Of course not one owned by us, but a frequency that all MOC CBers would know to use when trying to communicate with another Montana they see on the road.

This idea came up in another thread just recently again and I'd like to have a thread devoted to this idea so maybe we can get a decision made. We had also discussed it in April/May when planning our Lake Siskiyou Rally caravan. Out of the five rigs in the caravan to Lake Siskiyou, 4 had CB sets.

I see that a couple of people in the other thread have mentioned channel 19. Would that be the one to use?

Also, if anyone has suggestions of CB sets or antennas or the setup of them, that would be very helpful. Should we be using a certain type of antenna or have it at a certain height since we pull a tall 5th wheel? Do our tall 5th wheels inhibit reception? Would an antenna taller than the 5th wheel be legal?

Oh-oh.... do we need a CB radio category? *LOL

:)

[Art-n-Marge]

19 is already the Trucker's channel. I've heard there is also 17 or 16 or 15 for RVers. How about 20? I should be relatively easy to rotate to 20 to hail an MOCer that just double-flashed another. I am only suggesting an unofficial number in case the others are already crowded with chatter.

Then send a "Breaker 20, 'MOC name', Breaker 20, 'MOC name'"

I have a 4' tall fibre glass CB antenna on the driver's side front corner truck bed rail right behind the cab's rear window. It sticks up about 2.5 ft past the top of the cab but it is lower than the top of the 5er. The 5er probably impacts the signal at the rear of the trailer but I have never actually checked it. I formerly used FMRS radios and didn't have problems when caravaning and I am expecting better reception with the CB since it has a taller antenna mast. To clear the top of the 5er I'd need a 9' or 10' mast and I do think this is not necessary. Mounting it on the 5er is also another idea but I have no desire for that (too much cable and not enough use at the RV for me).

I own a Cobra 29LTD because this was rated the most common amongst truckers and I had the room for it under my dash but it is pretty big, but has LOTS of features that I have used. I have owned smaller Uniden and Cobra units that worked equally as well. Midland is also another affordable and popular brand. I have heard that the success of most CBs is the antenna. My 4 footer is probably taller than most. The tallest allowable antenna per the FCC is 60 feet above ground or 20 feet above a tree or building - a vehicle easily falls within these heights.

The taller the vehicle mounted antenna the more whipping that occurs. My fiberglass antenna is more rigid than most and moves a little bit when driving even when windy. I added an extra bolt fastener to the bracket because of it. I did not use the "flexible" antenna because it is too close to the rear frame and window of the cab and I didn't want it to be smacking the truck.

There's my ideas about CBs. I am all for them

[H. John Kohl]

I thought channel 13 was and unofficial channel for RVs.
On the East coast a lot of truckers still use 19. With today's communications technology normally they are the only ones that still use them. Therefore that is who I am listening to because they have the CB. The BAD NEWS is there is chatter there that is quite offensive at times.
On the East coast I would suggest monitoring 19 and then suggesting the Montana move to another channel.
The problem I see is most Montana's we meet on the road do not even know about MOC because we hardly ever get the double headlight flash so they would not be monitoring a different CB channel if we had one.

CB equipment is a totally different topic.

[Glenn and Lorraine]

WHEN the CB is on I monitor 19. I said "WHEN" as I rarely have the CB on anymore.
In a caravan, I would be game for any channel but would stay away from any channel close to 19. Being on 17, 18, 20 or 21 is going to be a problem when ever a passing trucker on 19 is transmitting.

[ChuckD]

On the East Coast 19 is the truckers channel and the source of a lot of travel information, so most of us would likely be monitering that channel. When we contact a fellow MOC we could always agree to move to another channel for a chat. But most times I would be willing to bet that after the chat they will go back to 19 again to see whats going on ahead of them on the road. Channel 19 is my choice. I want to chat with as many fellow MOCers as possible, but also I want to know real time traffic conditions ahead of me. Chuck...

[Bill-N-Donna]

19 was my suggestion in the other thread. When passing on the road it takes time to switch to a different channel and find a certain one. By the time you do that they may already be out of range. As suggested, if caravanning, any channel would be great once everyone is aware of which one to use. When I’m on the road I monitor 19. By reading this I find that in general most people when using them are monitoring channel 19. That just seems to be where most of the traffic is at. There is no channel that is owned by any type of one person. These are citizens band radios thus CB’s. They are all there for our use with the exception of channel "9" being set aside as an emergency channel. I would assume that would still be the case.

The preference I have on CB’s would be as also mentioned to have a good antenna for starters. A very important feature some of the newer ones have is an annoying squeal even if turned off will actually alert you to weather conditions. I found this out after installing my cobra which had this feature. The other day I heard this noise while going to church and the D/W was with me. I had informed her of the possible annoying noise that she may on some occasion hear. When we heard this noise and I turned it on the National Weather Center was issuing a tornado warning near our area. That feature is worth it’s weight in Gold IMHO.

[richfaa]

Our CB is always on and monitoring Ch 19. We find that there is not as much chatter as there once was on CB anymore. I would suggest keeping it on 19 and switching to say 14 if you raise anyone. When going in opposite directions by the time you identify that it is a Montana, we do not look at every approaching Rv, and give a call you only have a short time to communicate before you are out of range. In like 30K of on the road we have never had a Montana call..

[D and M On The Road]

Okay, it seems most MOC CBer's monitor channel 19. Then let's say if wanting to try and communicate with another Montana, we use channel 19. Then we can agree to move to another channel if needed.

On the caravan trip to Lake Siskiyou we all used the same channel but I think our CB has a speaker problem or we need a better antenna. LittleSpud's, PartyCrasher's and Ron-n-Ginger's CB setups all worked great during the caravan so I need to do some investigating on ours. Everyone could hear us talk, but we couldn't hear anyone else talk.

:):)

[Bill-N-Donna]

More than likely, I will be on 19 while traveling. Give me a yell if you see the MOC-7110 on a Montana as you go by!

[herewegotogether]

Just a little thaught for your antenna. If you mount it on the truck have it a couple on inches taller than the trailer/5er. By doing this you have an early warning system (truckers trick)for low over hangs and bridges. Also do to the size of the tow vehecle dual antennas work better as the trailer is blocking half the signal with only 1 antenna.

[D and M On The Road]

HereWeGoTogether: Thanks, that's a good tip. Any help is appreciated. :D

[LonnieB]

I use a 102" stainless steel whip mounted on my headache rack. It sticks up about 4 inches above the tallest part of my trailer and yes it is an excellent early warning device when pulling under any overhead object.
No matter what radio you choose to get, do not skimp on the antenna. It is the single most important part of the entire system. Buy quality, and adjust the SWR (standing wave ratio) to the proper settings. Don't worry about the trailer blocking the signal, it won't be enough to matter unless you are trying to talk more than 5 or 6 miles behind you.
My radio stays on 19 most of the time because thats where the trucks are, and thats where my friends are. The language does get pretty bad sometimes and the motormouths do run at times, I turn it off when it gets to be too much.

[Glenn and Lorraine]

quote:Originally posted by D and M On The Road

Okay, it seems most MOC CBer's monitor channel 19. Then let's say if wanting to try and communicate with another Montana, we use channel 19. Then we can agree to move to another channel if needed.

On the caravan trip to Lake Siskiyou we all used the same channel but I think our CB has a speaker problem or we need a better antenna. LittleSpud's, PartyCrasher's and Ron-n-Ginger's CB setups all worked great during the caravan so I need to do some investigating on ours. Everyone could hear us talk, but we couldn't hear anyone else talk.

:):)
I would check the antenna. Back in the old days, you have what we refered to as "All mouth and no ears". This was a phrase we used back when I got my first CB back in the 60's. More often than not your antenna isn't matched to the CB. Get or borrow an SWR meter and tune your antenna to your radio. Follow the instructions and you may be amazed at how well you can hear. You should be able to get an SWR at Radio Shack.
BTW--Back than you also needed a license to operate a CB legally. My call letters were KCS5369 and my handle was Tireman.

[D and M On The Road]

All this great information! Thank you. I am sure I won't be the only one benefiting from it.

:)

[Art-n-Marge]

There you have it... monitor 19, and after contact, switch to an agreed channel if desired.

On CBs, here's a few links I refer to for staying compliant and operating a CB correctly:

http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/index.htm?job=operations&id=cb (FCC Rules and regulations)
http://www.reactintl.org/rules-cb.htm (more details on the FCC rules and regulations)
http://www.wearecb.com/support/tencodes.htm (10 codes, Q codes and more on etiquette)

Enjoy,

[exav8tr]

I would like to make a suggestion. When I was flying in the Bush of Alaska, there were usually three or more of us, from the same company, in the air at the same time. We always monitored a common frequency (like ch 19 in CB lingo). When we wanted to communicate with each other, we had codes we used, such as "Tuna, go magnum". I was Tuna and magnum meant channel 357, Go special meant 380. We could monitor ch 19 and just say "Go MOC" when we see another Montana, many times ch19 is so conjested you don't have much time to say anything else. If we all agree to use, say CH 14 as the MOC channel, this would simplify things for everyone. Or use another channel we all agree on. Comments?????

[PartyCrashers]

My goodness....all the information!

Thank You D and M on the Road for taking this topic to the next level!

I do agree that CB radios are making a come back in communications for travelers.

I agree about using Ch. 19 as a main communication and I would like to see an altenative Ch. be used for more communication.

As suggested we don't want a channel too close to 19 being used as we will get what is called "skip" receptions.

Margee, Kevin said the same about an SWR....we still need to get one. We'll let you know when we do and you can use it.;)

Thanks all for information on CB's and Antennas....Two huh, I was eyeballing truckers and seeing some of the antennas used on other Moc'ers at Lake Siskiyou. Two seems to be the way to go.

Great suggestion about getting a thread for CB (or other moblie communications) on the road. It could be called "breaker, breaker" LOL! LOL!:D:):D:)

10 4 to all......

[ChuckD]

I do like that "GO MOC" idea. Makes things real simple.

[LonnieB]

Here is a link to a CB radio forum I belong to. There is more info there than anywhere I have found. I don't think you have to sign up to view the posts.
http://www.cbradiotalk.com

Under the CBRT logo, click on Board Index to go to the menu page. There is one titled Antenna Help with lots of questions and answers.

[Wiarton William]

I monitor 19 and for the most part have my CB on...whenever I met another Montana I would voice out Hello ?/B Montana. do you have your radio on??...............I have never received a reply.....

[8e3k0]

We monitor Channel 19 when traveling alone, but if we are traveling with two or more units in a caravan we always move to channel 4 or 5.

[D and M On The Road]

It seems there are many MOCers that have a CB powered-up while traveling. Maybe this will get everyone monitoring the same station and with 9000+ members who knows? We have to get lucky at some point.

Great information....... keep it coming. Maybe we can get a category for this? "Breaker, breaker, you got your ears on?"